Minnesota gets a shot at Michigan on Saturday, with The Little Brown Jug on the line and plenty of questions hanging over the Wolverines.
Michigan has been all over the place this season. In Week 1, the Wolverines needed an extra second to get past Western Michigan at home.
A week later, they pulled the upset against Oklahoma, also in Ann Arbor. Then came last week’s home loss to Iowa.
That kind of swing leaves one obvious question: are they good, or not? They still haven’t played a road game, either, which makes a trip to Huntington Bank Stadium a fresh test for a team that has been hard to pin down.
For Minnesota, the path to an upset starts with Bryce Underwood. The Gopher defense is seeing another quarterback who can hurt you with both his arm and his legs, and Underwood may have turned in his best college performance last week against Iowa.
He was crisp, accurate and made good decisions - not exactly the words that usually come attached to him. Underwood has a history of interceptions and poor decisions, and Minnesota needs that version of him on Saturday morning.
The Gophers also have to find some balance on offense. Michigan’s defense is strong, and points are going to be tough to come by, so Minnesota needs a running game to create scoring chances. That could set up a breakout opportunity for Darius Taylor, the former Michigan native.
Special teams could be just as important. It’s been a strength for Minnesota in 2026, and that has to continue. Winning field position and making life harder for Michigan’s offense will matter in a game where every possession feels like it counts.
There are two opposing players to keep an eye on. Bryce Underwood, wearing No.
19, “Sometimes he really loves throwing interceptions.” And on the defensive side, No.
90 John Henry Daley, a senior transfer from Utah, has three sacks this season after posting 11.5 last year as a first team All-Big 12 player for the Utes.
The expectation here is still that Michigan has more talent and that Minnesota walks away with a loss. That was the easy assumption for a long time, and before Minnesota’s win at Washington, it would have been tough to argue against it.
But the picture has changed a little. Michigan just lost at home.
The Western Michigan game is going to hang around all season. And Minnesota turned in its best performance of the year last week.
So is Michigan vulnerable? The answer here is no, not really.
The Wolverines still look like a team that can make life difficult, and the Gophers are likely to run into offensive problems. Even if Minnesota hangs around, there’s a good chance the defense gives up a couple of lapses that end up costing them.
In Other News...
Gophers Offensive Line Suddenly Has A Problem That Could Change Everything
Minnesotas offensive line has been forced into emergency mode after starting center Ashton Beers was ruled out for the rest of the 2026 season with a lower right leg injury. The timing is especially harsh for a unit that had already been stretched thin, because backup center Brett Carroll was lost for the year earlier with a preseason leg injury, leaving the Gophers to reshuffle the middle of the line on the fly.
The answer so far has been to move Greg Johnson from guard to center and plug Jaden Ball into left guard, but even that setup is not settled heading into the next game. Ball is questionable, which leaves Minnesota trying to protect its offense with more uncertainty than it can afford, and the next lineup decision could shape how the rest of the season looks up front. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Face A Serious O-Line Problem At The Worst Time
Minnesota is dealing with an offensive-line hit that arrives at exactly the wrong moment, with starting center Ashton Beers done for the 2026 season after sustaining a significant foot injury in the Akron game. The injury leaves a real hole in the middle of the line for a group that had already been managing its depth, and it is the kind of problem that can reshape an offense fast.
The Gophers are now down their top two centers from fall camp, since backup Brett Carroll is also sidelined with a knee injury. Minnesota plans to move Greg Johnson to center full-time to help stabilize things, but the shuffle only underscores how thin the room has become and how much pressure now sits on the next man up. [Read more 🡒]
Minnesotas Michigan Test Just Got More Interesting For One Reason
Michigans matchup with Minnesota already had the feel of an important checkpoint after the Wolverines loss to Iowa, and the availability report only adds another layer of uncertainty. Six starters showed up on the injury list, a reminder that this is not the same clean setup Michigan hoped for as it turns its attention to the Golden Gophers.
John Henry Daley is among the players whose status remains up in the air, while Blake Frazier is trending toward playing and Dom Nichols is expected to be available barring any setbacks. For Minnesota, that creates a game plan worth watching closely, because the Wolverines may still be figuring out how much of their lineup they can actually count on by kickoff. [Read more 🡒]